Pups Carlos, Charles, Lando Join Chennai Police Canine Squad

The Greater Chennai's city police canine squad has recently expanded its ranks with the addition of three Belgian shepherd puppies. City Police Commissioner Sandeep Rai Rathore has named the trio 'Charles,' 'Lando,' and 'Carlos', after Formula 1 drivers.

Mr Rathore said that the new puppies will be given special training to work in coordination with police, ensuring the continued success of the sniffer dog squad in maintaining public safety, the TOI reported.

Meanwhile, the choice of names for the pups has piqued the interest of people, who are now speculating whether the Commissioner is an F1 enthusiast. 

A user wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “Looks like he is a fan of F1 drivers Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.”

“All F1 first names!” someone exclaimed.

Another wrote, “Someone follows #F1,” followed by a winking emoji.

“Bro is an F1 fan,” commented a fourth.

The sniffer dog squad of the Greater Chennai Police plays a key role in helping law enforcement across various cases, including murder, robbery, bomb detection, and drug detection. These highly trained dogs, operating under the supervision of sub-inspectors of police from Kilpauk and St Thomas Mount, use their keen sense of smell to identify evidence and potential threats, often leading to arrests of criminals.

The Chennai police sniffer dog squad consists of 21 trained dogs (not including the three puppies), each specialising in different areas. "Fourteen dogs specialise in bomb detection, ensuring quick and accurate identification of potential threats. Six dogs are used for crime detection, and one dog is utilised for drug detection," a police officer told TOI. Five dogs have retired from their service and are currently being cared for at the dog kennel in Madhavaram.